A teenager who shattered his skull falling from a cliff at Cape Byron in New South Wales will undergo surgery this week at the Mater Hospital to have a piece of 3D printing fitted to his damaged skull.
Mater Hospital neurosurgeon Rob Campbell said the technology is world class using a custom-printed section of the skull which mimics natural bone with its elastic capability and strength, allowing tissue to grow in and incorporate the implant to the skull.
The technology has been developed by a Melbourne-based biomedical company and commercialised in the past year with the help of the Federal Government grant.